Which classic book should an English learner read first?

Start with The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, at 60 pages and rated B1-B2, the most accessible classic on this shelf. Once you are comfortable, move up through the B2 titles.

What CEFR level do I need to read classic novels?

Most of these classics sit at B2. A confident B1 reader can start with the shortest B1–B2 title and use the tap-to-translate vocabulary tool. C1 titles like Heart of Darkness and Crime and Punishment are best saved for last.

Are these classics free to read online?

Yes. All twelve are public domain and free to read online with no sign-up, each with a reading tracker, a short quiz and a personal vocabulary list.

readClassicly.

Read classics · Improve your English

Classic books for English learners

Twelve public-domain classics, sorted by CEFR reading level so you always know what to read next. Every book is free to read online with a reading tracker, a short quiz, and tap-to-translate vocabulary. No sign-up.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with The MetamorphosisB1-B2 · 60 pages · ~1h

Still below B1? Begin with short A1 stories and work up to these novels.

B1–B2 · Start here

The most accessible classic on the shelf. Short and plainly written.

The MetamorphosisFranz Kafka (1915)Kafka's short, devastating novella about a young man who wakes up transformed. Three chapters, readable in one evening.B1-B2 · 60p · ~1hRead →

B2 · Confident intermediate

Clear enough to read for pleasure once you are comfortable at B2.

The Yellow WallpaperCharlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)A short, gripping story of a woman confined for her own good. One of the most studied short stories in English literature.B2 · 40p · ~1hRead →The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis Stevenson (1886)A gothic novella that gave the language a metaphor for the divided self. Tightly plotted and short.B2 · 90p · ~2hRead →A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens (1843)Dickens's famous tale of Scrooge, ghosts, and second chances. Warm, accessible, and short enough to read in a week.B2 · 110p · ~2hRead →The AwakeningKate Chopin (1899)Chopin's novel about a woman waking up to her own life in 1890s Louisiana. Scandalous at the time, essential now. Short chapters make it fast.B2 · 200p · ~3hRead →FrankensteinMary Shelley (1818)The original modern horror novel. Mary Shelley wrote it at nineteen. A story about creation, responsibility, and what we make.B2 · 280p · ~5hRead →Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen (1813)Austen's most loved novel. Sharp, funny, and surprisingly modern. The longest of the easier books in the plan.B2 · 430p · ~8hRead →

B2–C1 · Stretch a little

Richer sentences and vocabulary, a good push upward.

The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)A short, lyrical novel about wealth, longing, and the impossibility of repeating the past. Set on Long Island in the summer of 1922.B2-C1 · 180p · ~3hRead →The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde (1890)Wilde's only novel. Beautiful sentences, beautiful corruption. A book about what beauty costs.B2-C1 · 250p · ~5hRead →Madame BovaryGustave Flaubert (1856)Flaubert's masterpiece of provincial unhappiness. Translated by Eleanor Marx (Karl Marx's daughter). The first great novel of disillusionment.B2-C1 · 350p · ~8hRead →

C1 · Advanced, when you are ready

Dense and demanding. Save these for last.

Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad (1899)Conrad's dense, troubling novella about a journey up the Congo. Short in pages, demanding in prose. The hardest stylistically in the plan.C1 · 100p · ~3hRead →Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky (1866)Dostoevsky's great novel of a murder and what follows it. The longest book in the plan, saved for last because by then you will have the habit. Constance Garnett's classic translation.C1 · 550p · ~13hRead →

Why classics are great English practice

Real, working English

You absorb the vocabulary and rhythm of educated English from writers who shaped the language.

Graded by level

Each book carries a CEFR rating so you climb at your own pace instead of drowning in a hard one.

Tap-to-save vocabulary

Tap any word for its meaning and add it to a personal list you can review later.

Read them all

Twelve classics in twelve months

Follow the free guided plan, one book at a time, with a calm daily page goal, a tracker, and a quiz at the end of each. It saves your progress and vocabulary across devices.

Browse all twelve books →